A gift
by eine.hexe
Summary: Oneshot. Kagome reflects on her new life, an improvement from what she'd had, even though she sometimes still longs for it. Her boys are playing.
1. A gift

**A gift**

X**o**X**o**X**o**X**o**X**o**X**o**X

Disclaimer: I know the drill, but it's Christmas - please don't make me say it. Make it a present. For me? :)

_**A/N: It's not too Christmas-y (at all, actually) but it's the best I can do. Merry Christmas to you all, love you :) Hope every wish comes true for you.**_

_**chotto matte yo = wait a minute**_

_**demo = but, however**_

_**Enjoy :)  
**_

* * *

She watched.

A ghostly smile on her face, Kagome sat on the porch with her favorite book forgotten on her lap as she stared at her two heroes. Or – better said – her two devils.

Her boys were so predictable. Grunting, cursing, shouting ensued from the yard, but she no longer found it annoying.

Light punches thrown in one's way, a few kicks from the other then a few frustrated growls to prove they were still themselves. And she loved them. Her boys, they were a couple of idiots.

However, her knees melted whenever one of them cast a grin her way or said anything related to her. Kagome was whipped. Unfortunately, they knew it and took advantage of it fully. But not today. Today, she had no weakness for them whatsoever.

The wind tried its best to soothe the world, but it only excited. Leaves falling everywhere. It was autumn, but Kagome couldn't help but think of Christmas and winter. Her wish was… Her wish had always been to spend a happy, calm Christmas in the Feudal Era, but she had missed her chance. It couldn't be helped though, right?

Her eye twitched and nervous teeth found her bottom lip to nip it when her boys stopped suddenly. There was an odd tension in the air for a moment, until she understood their hesitation. They were both so see-through. She steeled her nerves to be able to resist the fight, to win the war.

In a flash, her little angel was before her, eyes wide and pleading; puppy-eyes. His smile seemed innocent, but she knew better.

"Please, mom," she heard him beg with false regret. This brought a smile to her face. No matter how much, little Ryouta never felt sorry for anything. Breaking vases, scaring children on Halloween, chasing cats – that one was pretty adorable, too, eating like a pig, and the list was endless.

"Yeah," the other interfered, "please, _mom_." His toothy grin was almost contagious, and Kagome was once again amazed by her husband's constant good mood and how he could still grow butterflies in her stomach with every twinkle in his amber orbs. She sometimes wanted to think he kept this happiness up to show her he wasn't angry at her for having made him stay here, in her time. There were times when she felt self-destructive for it. It was her fault, it really was. No matter how much her husband protested, in the end, her heart had been the one that had made the change for them. Selfishness. Her selfishness. She had wanted them all – Inuyasha _and_ her family.

But the past was just that.

And Kagome only lived for the future.

Smiling to herself, the young woman shook her head defiantly. "No. Dream on."

She wanted to giggle at the suddenly grim faces her boys had. They were so alike, the two of them. Ryouta took after his father almost entirely, except his fluffy dog-ears that were as dark as her hair. This was one of their jokes – one that really annoyed her, but she supposed it could be fun sometimes. Since the ears were the only fur-covered part of her boys' bodies, Inuyasha always commented about how Ryouta 'got his fur from his mother.'

She gulped almost painfully at the quick, male look they shot to one another and found herself wondering what their big plan was this time. She swore, they were both on the same wavelength all the time! Neither seemingly had to say anything, because the other would know right away.

A wink, a smirk, a "Race you there!" and they were both gone. Naturally, Kagome had predicted such a thing, knowing perfectly well that there was no place in the entire house they wouldn't find their damned ball in. Geez, she expected such a childish thing from Ryouta, but seriously, Inuyasha? He was a grown up, wasn't he? Then again…

Half an hour, an hour, and still nothing.

"Honey," she called normally, knowing they both heard her perfectly fine from wherever they were, "you won't find it." Her voice was firm and she knew they believed her, but their hope was voracious and it spread like a disease. A small smile tugged at her lips.

"Seriously, boys," she said next, knowing how much Inuyasha disliked being called that, "you should come back and play without the ball. I can't have you kill any more of my roses."

But they wouldn't give up so easily. She knew. She'd been through this. What was that word again?

"_Déjà vu_. Hey, chotto matte yo! What are you scheming up there?" she asked loud enough so it would sound like shouting to them, throwing in a few Japanese words, just so she'd make sure she didn't forget them. America was so nice and it had been the perfect choice to get away from Japan and the well, but sometimes, she missed her old house. She missed her old school friends, who were in fact spread all around Asia now. She missed her old life. But this new one was so much more than she had ever dreamed. A life in a world where she could have it all.

Carefully, she started looking for the 'fabulous duo' that gave her so many headaches, but so much love, too. A step, two, three, the stairs, their old carpet and hard wood floor, complete and utter silence and no sign of her family. Were they playing tricks on her?

Most likely.

"Demo," she said after a while, "it doesn't really matter. You won't find it." She'd buried it. Literally.

First, their bedroom, then Ryouta's play room, the bathroom, balcony. They were nowhere to be seen.

"The attic, boys?" she asked, the question meant more for herself than anyone else.

But they weren't there, either. That left only one more place.

"You know I might fall if I chase you on the roof," she called, meaning to get their attention. Still no answer.

"Fine," she huffed, "I'm coming!"

Her heart stopped, "You'd better be." His husky voice, his warm breath caressing the sensitive skin on her neck, his tight embrace. Gods, this was toxicity. Amazing, mind-numbing, heart-stopping toxicity.

"Ryouta?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sent him to dig out the ball from the courtyard," he replied promptly and Hell if he didn't enjoy watching her pout.

Alright, so there was no real war, because no matter what, she couldn't seem to win. But that had its perks, didn't it?

"'Nuff time?" she asked.

He seemed to be thinking, "Mm." Wetting his lips, he showed her a glimpse of heaven, then crushed her hopes, "No."

"Oh." Was her disappointment so obvious? Was she so transparent? She knew that answer. Inuyasha saw her. The real Kagome. The one that wasn't always fearless and courageous and adorable. The one that sometimes cried at night for her husband, for what she thought she'd put him through, for what couldn't be taken back. She cried for their lost friends, for Sango, Miroku and Shippou. She cried for Kaede, too. Inuyasha knew Kagome's soul.

"Don't worry. Tonight, Ryouta is sleeping over."

"Oh?" Her excitement popped up, her ears loving the sound of her husband's last statement. Smiling, she allowed herself to hope, "You fit in quite well, didn't you?"

In her world. In _their_ world.

"Ya think?" he replied, rolling his eyes.

A scolding finger pressed against his chest, "Stop saying 'ya'. You know how much that irks me."

Inuyasha flashed her a lopsided smirk, pressing her against the wall while making sure she had no way of escaping his calculated torture. She would pay for hiding the ball, of course, of course. "What else irks you?" he asked, his lips inches away from her skin. Even her pores begged to be touched, covered by his comforting scent, sheltered by his masculine strength.

And she was happy to endure her punishment.

Christmas was far, but she'd anxiously wait for it. It wasn't winter, it wasn't the Feudal Era, but she didn't need a better Christmas present: her boys were her entire world.


	2. To give you all I have

**To give you all I have  
**

X**o**X**o**X**o**X**o**X**o**X**o**X

A single, unpredicted look in her ocean-deep eyes was always enough to leave him instantly tongue-tied. His heart would flutter for a lone moment, making him fall even harder than before. So many wrong steps taken in vain, so many words thrown so carelessly, so hurtfully in a past that now seemed so faraway. He'd taken her for something fleeting, something that would disappear from his life just as unexpectedly as it had appeared. Just that little something he'd look back upon with a bittersweet smile.

The truth was he'd needed a connection so badly, had wanted one so damn much, that everything that was happening now seemed nothing short of a miracle. His incredible miracle.

Kagome, his saving grace.

Wearing nothing but a warm, loving smile and fingers bent on never stopping from caressing her skin with a lover's zeal, Inuyasha let his body show all the warmth he felt inside for his wife.

Kagome, his wife of sixty-seven years.

Every day, her voice broke him to pieces only to put him back together again. It made him tremble, laugh, it made him want to cry. He did cry – sometimes.

Truthfully, it had never stopped being a marvel. The way her hair shined whenever the sun would stop pretending not to notice her beauty, how her subtle dimples showed when she smiled like _that_ just for him. Every word she uttered still shattered all his barriers, all his defenses, leaving him strangely filled with a love so complete and meaningful that he had trouble understanding all its intricacy. She, Kagome, on the other hand, always knew just how to handle it. She could do anything. To him, Kagome was unbreakable; she was just like the solitary but never lonesome tree against the raging winds in the middle of the naked peak. That kind of sunbeam that managed to shine even when the meanest of clouds took over the sky.

His ears twitched slightly in the direction of the nursery, just to check if their little son had fallen from bed once again.

Yet another wonder. Their little treasure, their little Ryouta. A child born from all the sacred feelings they never dared talk about. All the moments of passion so ardent that they both wished their bodies would never disentangle. So many instants of irrational love.

"Honey?"

Her voice again – it brought forth that ridiculous tingling in his entire body, from head to toes.

"Go back to sleep," he urged, his voice so weak he could _feel_ it begin to shatter. He wanted to watch her a while longer.

_Kami, Kagome… what are you doing to me?_

"Yeah," she agreed. "In a minute," she promised. But minutes passed and he kept observing her motionless eyes, her still lashes, the fleshy lips that simply begged to be nibbled feverishly.

"You're driving me crazy," he would have said, had his throat been clear, had his attention been less vague.

"Do you ever miss it?" she asked meekly, knowing he'd catch on her line of thought.

"No," he replied so promptly and with such conviction that she found it hard to keep doubting his sincerity. He was happy with her, she was sure, but sometimes she wondered if he'd ever wanted _more._

"It's just-"

"Woman, you're giving me a headache. I said no, then _no_ it is," he interrupted, his tone surprisingly soft despite the harsh words. "And 'sides… we couldn't have raised Ryouta properly there."

"And you wouldn't be a sexy lawyer, either."

"You got it."

A charged silence settled between the two as they looked out the window together, appreciating the dim light of the moon. Inuyasha licked her bare shoulder to her ear, nipping the lobe seductively. Her gasp was anticipated.

"Hey, do _you_?" he asked all of a sudden.

"Do I, what?"

"Do you ever regret it?"

"America, yeah," she said without a second thought. "But it's for the best. Being with you – never. Having Ryouta, God forbid. So no, Inuyasha, I wouldn't change anything about us for the world."

She turned in his embrace only to see the boundless love her husband still held for her – he'd never let her go. Their lips touched lightly, sensually, so intimately that it took their breaths away. They'd never go a day without each other ever again.


End file.
